Musings on a Life in the Theatre, Tablet PC's, Cultural Issues, (oh, and the occasional emu sighting...)

22 posts categorized "Southern Crossroads Diaries"

March 10, 2012

From what we're hearing this morning it sounds like Southern Crossroads, the musical that Steve Przybylski and I put together back in 2009 has turned into a hit at Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island, Il. It's still early (and I think most of the cast and crew are sleeping it off after a successful opening night and presumably one hell of a party), but from the few emails we've gotten and Facebook posts, everyone seems thrilled with the show, most importantly, the audience!

This sounds like the second successful production of the show since its premiere at Wayside Theatre in 2009, the last at Totem Pole Playhouse this past summer. That one garnered a standing ovation for every performance as audiences just fell in love with the story, the characters, the music, and the fun.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Circa 21 production in a few weeks and meeting the new family members of the Greene Family Singers and all who poured their hearts into this latest production. Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this a success at Circa 21 and congrats on a wonderful opening night.

January 31, 2011

Two previews and now one opening night performance under our belt and I think to say that we have created something special here at Wayside Theatre with Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure. Each of the three performances has received an enthusiastic standing ovation. The laughs are hitting consistently across the board and the music is delighting audiences to the point that they have a hard time sitting in their seats they are bouncing along with the beat. So, I think it might be safe to say that we've got another big hit on our hands.

But then we've got a run through March 12 to find out if that is true or not. I'm very proud of everyone involved in this production from the uber talented cast to the designers to the staff. My collaborator Steve Przybylski has once again proven to be my muse and his genius has helped shape this adventure in ways that are slam bang entertaining, but also powerfully full of resonance. As he put it the original Southern Crossroads created the Green Family Singers that audiences loved, but this prequel proves that the delightfully dysfunctional dynamic we created can endure beyond just one adventure. And he's right. The magic is in the music of course because that's what separates the Greene Family Singers from any old depression era family. And while the family is the key and the core, this play's engine moves on Stewpot, MeMe, the Sheriff, and Caw Cut the villain. They create the atmosphere of New Orleans and the conflict and make sure the family feels constantly like a fish out of water.

I'm exhausted as is everyone who worked on this world premiere. We partied hard tonight and can all sleep the sleep of those who know we accomplished something special as a team. It's something that will bind us all together in this wacky world of theatre forever. I'm just blessed to have been in the position to work with them all in creating something that offers folks a chance for an afternoon or evening's entertainment.

January 30, 2011

The theatre biz is a kooky one at times. Tonight is the official opening of Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure at Wayside Theatre. But there have already been two audiences who have seen the show at yesterday's two preview performances. While the show might be a bit different after we make a few changes in today's show, tonight's opening night is the debut of record once all is said and done.

The good news is that after yesterday's previews we know this new show works wonderfully for audiences. Both shows received rousing standing ovations so we must be doing something right. Folks took to the Greene Family Singers right away, loved the amazing music, and enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and the characters that the Greene Family meets in this adventure. As both a writer and a director I'm really pleased with what we've all created. The cast did extraordinary work yesterday through both previews. They continued to hone in their characters and find the playing zone for the music. The peals of laughter and audible reactions came both from the comedy of the script and also from recognition. Some of that recognition came from audience members who went on the first Greene Family adventure two years ago as they met the characters they loved again. Remember this is a prequel to that first piece. Some of it came from the audience recognizing the excellent musicianship and performances that these actors are putting on display. The surprises along the way in the script also produced great reactions, but then that's why the surprises are there to begin with.

Tonight's opening night performance should be a good one. We've tuned the show up really well, in my view, and will tune it a little more today. The expectations are high with this one from those attending and those doing the work, so that means all of our stomaches are in a bit of a knot today. But when we hit the boards at 6:30, I think the magic of what this team of amazing artists will take over if yesterday's previews are any indication.

January 23, 2011

Whew. Yesterday was a long rehearsal day as we spent the day putting the second act of Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure together at Wayside Theatre. The story is working very well, but that story only works if the songs selected from a range of Old Time, Gospel, and traditional tunes by our music director Steve Przybylski work. Let me tell you, Steve's genius is fully on display here, as is the musicianship of our cast. Whether they are pounding away at the upright bass or the banjo, or blowing the trumpet or harmonica, or whatever they have in their hands, these folks do a remarkable job. When their voices take flight in some of the a capella sections it takes your breath away.

Yes, you can say I'm biased as I'm the co-creator of the piece. But this wouldn't be possible without Steve's approach to the music. Normally when you are creating a musical, the songs and story work together because the creators find the musical moments in the story and a song is written to bring that moment to musical life. In this case it's different. Steve and I talk about the story, which is based on The Greene Family Singers, a fictionalized family of singers that play their music for a living in Depression Era America, the characters and situations they meet along the way, and then Steve selects songs that in his mind fits where mine, as the book writer, is going. Somehow, he's more in tune with where I'm going than I am. I then use those songs as the both the skeleton and the meat for the story. Some songs are pure performance for the family, as they play takes place on one night that they are performing their music. But many of the songs offer us opportunities to advance the story with direct movement or commentary. At times it feels very Brechtian, at times it crosses over to more conventional musical theatre story telling.

The music is the magic in this piece. As Wallace Greene says in the story, "Playin' and singin' is like breathin' to us. Long as we can play and sing we got some hope." I couldn't agree more.

January 22, 2011

We're in the midst of creating a world premiere at Wayside Theatre. Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure will open next weekend. It's a prequel to the original Southern Crossroads we created two years ago and that has enjoyed some great success. Our audiences wanted to see more and we're working to deliver that. Normally I blog quite a bit about the process but I've been busy writing and re-writing as we've been in rehearsals but I think we're close to the writing period being over as we head into a weekend where we put all the bits and pieces together into the two acts.

To say I'm enjoying this would be an understatement. We've got a cast that is tearing up the stage and the wonderful music in the show. There as willing (so far) to roll with the punches of creation as they come and they are an amazingly talented group. After each rehearsal we're all exhausted, but we come at it hard the next day.

The story follow the Greene Family Singers back a couple of years. The original was set in a small Virginia town in 1933. This adventure is set in New Orleans in 1931 and the story tells us about how one of the five brothers killed a girl and was then acquitted for her murder. And yes, it's a musical and a comedy. Along the way we meet the girl, we meet a bad guy, we meet a Sheriff caught in the middle, and we meet a banjo playing bar owner who owns the place it all happens in. And we also get the Greene Family Singers themselves playing their music trying to make a living. The music is a big part of the story. It's a mix of Old Time, Bluegrass, Gospel, Jazz, and shows the band's style beginning to evolve based on their experiences in The Big Easy.

One way or the other this is going to be quite a ride for our audiences as we mix in the familiar with some new surprises. Here's a link to a brief video interview I did about the show. Hope you plan on joining us for all the fun.

November 05, 2009

Get ready for some fun and some great music. The Robbie Limon Band, along with the Rhonda Sager Trio, and some of Wayside Theatre's own artists are going to be performing a benefit concert at Wayside Theatre on Sunday, November 15 at 7pm. The bar opens at 6pm for some pre-show refreshment and the evening promises to be a great night of music and mirth.

We're excited that Robbie, (who has appeared as Buddy Holly, Hank Williams, and in Southern Crossroads,) and The Rhonda Sager Trio have decided to come down and share their musical gifts with us. When some of the Southern Crossroads cast takes the stage, it should also be a treat for our audience as well.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and are selling fast. So give us a call at (540) 869-1776 to get in on the fun today.

April 25, 2009

Today we have the final two performances of Cotton Patch Gospel at Wayside Theatre. It also marks the end of our 47th Season. For another notch on the pole it also marks the end of my 10th season as Artistic Director. Who’d a thunk things would go this far?

It has certainly been a wild ride throughout those 10 seasons. The first one was nothing short of a disaster as I and the Board of Directors had to figure out what was what. We produced some good work in those early seasons amidst the chaos, but it was really all about figuring out what we needed to do to really move forward on the mandate I was given when I was hired in 1999. At the time, Wayside Theatre’s season ran from June to December and the board wanted to get to a season that ran throughout the year. We worked hard on that goal and achieved it in 2003. There was a lot of courage exhibited by a few and a great deal of cowardice by others over those years and that still seems to be the trend today.

We’ve had some amazing successes and some stunning failures. We’ve almost had to close the doors a couple of times, this past fall being one of them. Given the state of the economy currently, it is anybody’s guess how we’ll emerge from a huge funding downtown and a climate where are ticket sales are much lower than we need them to be, but we keep finding ways to keep things going forward.

We renovated the facility that was surely in sore need of it. The plumbing was ready to collapse, the roof leaked and needed replacing and I won’t begin to tell you how scary the electrical system was. During that renovation we moved out for a year and created another theatre in Front Royal about 10 miles away. We really had no choice because the alternative would have been to shut down during that period and to shut down even temporarily meant goodbye for good. Who knew we’d turn into a political hot potato during that time. That interesting little theatre we created at the Royal Phoenix was unique and wonderful and we really hoped it would become a second space for us, but politics and money kept that from happening and so we returned home to our renovated theatre last season, with hopes of someday being able to move onto Phase II which will allow us to expand a little. Although I think we’ve already outgrown those original expansion plans.

Our Educational Programs have grown to a point where we not only do amazing work with the area’s youth, but we do just amazing work. In this still very much rural area we see kids who ache to perform and learn what that means. We fill that need, but the kids fill us up with their energy, creativity, and enthusiasm.

March 22, 2009

I was going to use another lyric from the show for the title of this post but that fiddlin’ demon, Larry Dahlke (or is that Dahike?) beat me to it. In any regard, ‘Sho Nuff’ we’re ready to open Cotton Patch Gospel at Wayside Theatre tonight after two wonderful previews yesterday.

Two great houses yielded two great responses both of which we learned from heading into tonight’s opening. The first audience was much older and felt very safe. Consequently the show felt safe and didn’t quite have the edge of danger it needed in performance. The evening show was a younger crowd and they were ready to rock, (bluegrass?) The edge came back. Again both shows were very good shows, but it proves once again that until you add the final character (the audience) to any play, you don’t know what you have.

The cast continues to improve with each outing and we’ve still got some details to iron out in a final hour or so of rehearsal today. And then we open.

Expectations are high here. This show is much beloved and folks are coming to love it again. The theatre needs the show to perform well at the box office, and our community needs another touchstone, like our previous version of Southern Crossroads to help ease the tensions in our lives in these crazy days.

Ray Ficca is dominating the stage like a Colossus, which you have to when you portray Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas and half of the disciples, John the Baptist, about 20 other characters, and of course Jesus, you have to. His performance is an amazing tour-de-force of acting and story telling. Of course the piece is such an amazing piece of story telling that it demands that kind of actor. Ray and I have a pretty locked in and shared focus on what works and what doesn’t. It was a pleasure and delight to see him make adjustments, with no prodding from me, from the afternoon show into the evening show as he sharpens his attack.

My biggest barometers in previews on whether or not we have something good are two things. We have a group of volunteer ushers who always usher for the first preview. They are my first critics. They were having a blast yesterday afternoon. One lady said that her legs hurt from tapping her toes to Harry Chapin’s music so much. Good sign. The other barometer is after the show when I stand at the door, shake hands, and say thank you to those leaving the theatre. When folks look me in the eye with their comments I know we’re on to something. When they don’t I know we’re missing the boat. Lots of eye contact yesterday with heartfelt comments, so I believe we’ve hit the mark.

This show appears simple when produced, directed and performed well. But I have to tell you, it is a complex series of interwoven details that require an exacting and exhausting effort to prepare and intense concentration to perform. What’s amazing is that we’ve hit those marks with one less week of rehearsal than we usually do, due to financial constraints. This is two shows in a row that I have asked a group of very talented and gifted artists to take a journey with less time than we normally have. In both instances they have taken the ride and met the challenge.

I don’t want to do that anymore and not because of the stress, the tension, or the exhaustion. I want to take this incredible mix of actors and designers we have and really give them the room to create. We’ve made magic these last two shows (three actually) and when we can do our work with proper support we’ll be better for it. It is time for this company to really do some amazing things without feeling like there is a gun to their head. I’m not bragging here but one of those “meet eye to eye” comments from yesterday is one we hear after every performance. An audience member says she loves what we do, and is happy to travel all the way from Washington DC to see our shows because they are better than anything she sees in her town. In my heart I know she’s right. I wish I could infuse more hearts here locally with that.

March 14, 2009

Today is a one of those days in the theatre that you both live for and dread. You hope you work on a show that is so special to the creators and the audiences that you hate to see it close. When lightning does striek, you hang on to every second because you know it just doesn't happen all that often. Southern Crossroads is one of those.

Created out sheer necessity, against some pretty steep odds, Southern Crossroads has been a phenomenon from is first show until today, the closing day. Every performance has met with a standing ovation and cheers like we haven't seen in some time. We've seen more repeat business for this show than we've ever seen, and everyone who has come in contact with the show hates to see it close. Audiences are overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

The inevitable question is "why close it?" Simple. Our next show has a very good advance and we have an obligation to our subscribers to provide it. Southern Crossroads was a gamble when all we had left was ourselves and our ceativity. It was intended to be a bridge and now it has turned into something much more important for many of us. I've been asked if it saved the theatre. The answer to that is yes and no. It allowed us to keep going when it looked like that might not be possible. Did it gross tons of money? No. But we think we're starting to find out what our "new normal" for box office returns will be, thanks to this show. It is tough to compare slots year to year in the theatre because the shows are invariably different, but Southern Crossroads did about 20% less than what we usually see this time of the year. Is that a new normal? At the moment I think so, but we'll see how things continue. I certainly hope the difference doesn't shift unfavorably, because any gains could be wiped away in a hurry.Southern Crossroads I'm sure will appear again here at Wayside Theatre. We're already talking to other theatres about future productions, so the Greene Family Singers will get to play some more music and enchant more audiences. The story, the music, and the fun have warmed a lot of hearts in our area this winter, and I think it will continue to do so in the future.

I can't begin to express my gratitude to the cast, the staff, and the audiences that have turned Southern Crossroads into a new benchmark in my life. It has been an amazing ride.

March 05, 2009

We’ve only got two weeks left in what is turning out to be a magical and memorable run of our new world premiere, Southern Crossroads, at Wayside Theatre. Audiences continue to love the show and we’re seeing quite a bit of repeat business as folks come to see it and then come back to visit, bringing their entire family, and/or groups of friends.

I continue to be amazed at how much people love this story. I’m never amazed that the love the music and the performers because this team on the stage is top notch and when they are in full swing they rock the house with their music.

We’ve recently gotten two great reviews from two sources outside of our immediate area.

Potomac Stages, which is an online publication, that reviews theatre in the DC/Baltimore area sees about 2 of our shows a year. I’m glad they saw this one as the loved the show. Read their review here.